So how does Branson do it? For those with the stomach for it the tactics are simple. Here's our five point game plan for marcomms tough guys who refuse to have sand kicked in their face by the corporate heavyweights.

1. Look after your friends and know the enemy: Your friends are the customers you want to do business with. Your enemy is whoever's already selling to them. Playing the little guy role successfully isn't just about beating the big boys at their own game, it's about talking with the people on the street and rallying popular support for the cause you're fighting. Branson's fights aren't about market share or crude profitability, they're about fairer phone deals, more eco-friendly air travel or the right for all football fans to enjoy Super Sunday without paying super prices.

Clayton Cristensen focuses on this point in his book The Innovator's Solution when he says that the most successful "disruptive" companies are the ones that focus more on the "job" that customers want from any product or service than the competitors already delivering to them. It's about working out who you are selling to before who you are selling against. So long as you maintain this perspective, your David V's Goliath tactics are always likely to get the thumbs up from the hoi polloi in the arena.

2. Use the element of surprise: When you're outnumbered, the element of surprise is your best - sometimes your only - weapon. Whether it's announcing new mobile phone tariffs or service enhancements on Virgin Atlantic flights, Branson's innovations are expertly communicated at exactly the right time. Singapore Airlines may well have been the first carrier to put the new Airbus 380 into service, but it was Virgin Atlantic that went public with their commitment to commission the world's most talked about new airplane first. While the execs at Singapore were polishing off the messaging portfolio, Branson was standing in front of mock ups of the plane's new interior talking up the new bar and gym areas that travellers could expect to experience once the aircraft was in service.

3. Fight battles you know you can win: Yurong Lin is CEO at Deepnet Technologies, a  software business that develops web browsing and online security applications. Standing in the shadow of Microsoft, his business has little alternative but to be bullish when it comes to taking a pop at the competition. "It's about finding the niche strengths in your product range and using them to sleigh the competition at every opportunity," says Yurong. "For instance, just before Microsoft introduced the latest version of Internet Explorer, our prime communications tactic for the Deepnet browser focused on our unique anti-phishing security features. With no comparative security software to offer in defence we bloodied the nose of the major player time and again, winning new customers every time one of our stories was published."

4. Change tactics all the time:  Davids are always good for the first few rounds, but the competition will learn your game quickly and start to deploy effective counter-measures. Defences will be shored up fast and the full artillery will be deployed as they try to get you off the field fast. In Deepnet's case, while boosting its share of the browser market significantly, Microsoft still sits on about 80% of the world market and could easily afford to drop a few points while it got its defences in a row. "You've got to be nimble to say ahead," continues Yurong. "As soon as our anti-phishing software ceased to offer any advantage we moved tactics to focus on other areas like RSS, cookie management or our unique content filters. Our overall tactic is to consistently outpace the competition by about 18 months to make sure we always have fresh ammunition."

5. Manage the enemy within: For many, the first defectors are in the boardroom not the battlefield. While tactics designed to trip up your biggest competitors might be right up your street, not all of your colleagues will have the same stomach for fisticuffs and keeping moral up in the rank and file is critical in any war of words. Expect everything from the threat of legal action to unsustainable pricing tactics impossible for you to match if you go up against the big boys and make sure you're ready with the rally speech when someone wants to throw in the towel at the board room.